SEOUL– Prosecution investigators raided the gender ministry on Thursday as part of an investigation into allegations that officials from the previous administration assisted the then ruling party in devising campaign pledges ahead of the presidential election earlier this year.
Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office seized documents from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family building in central Seoul over alleged Public Official Election Act violations.
The investigation centers around allegations that former ranking ministry officials assisted the then ruling Democratic Party (DP) in making the draft of campaign pledges ahead of the March 9 election, in violation of the law that prohibits public officials from using their status to engage in activities that can affect the election result.
The investigation comes after the country’s election watchdog, the National Election Commission (NEC), lodged criminal complaints against former Vice Minister Kim Kyung-seon and a ranking ministry official under the previous Moon Jae-in administration.
The NEC alleges the former vice minister was directly involved in the development of the draft at the request of a DP research official, whose identity has been withheld.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
